Andy's Roadster project

The last incarnation of our beloved mr2..Discussion and technical advice for the ZZW30 MR2 Roadster (MR-S), & MR2 Spyder. 1ZZ-FE.

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Andy_Foz
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:46 pm
Location: Teynham, Kent

Andy's Roadster project

Post by Andy_Foz »

Thought i would post a few pics of my mk3 as Ive spent a bit of time doing a few bits and pieces to it since I bought it in July (considering a month of between now and then was out of action due to a stag do, birthday, wedding and honeymoon!). Bodywork was tatty, but most importantly, the engine was sound and it had a hardtop too (which is the main reason I sold my last one after getting the roof slashed last year).

Here she was the day I got it...

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Lowering springs to at least drop her a little bit (I cant afford coilies at the moment).

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These have helped (the springs) for the time being

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Considering i thought the paint work was xxxxx, it came up pretty damn good after some TLC and a clay bar!!

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After this, the wheels were really letting it down, so I painted them and painted the calipers.

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The bonnet was screwed after being keyed whilst in the previous owner's possession... I threw a can of paint over it to mitigate this a bit for the time being, but after the clay work on the rest of the body, it did need addressing properly. Some of 3M's finest and an hour and a half of our time and this was achieved....

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And after!

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Make NO mistake, there will be more of this being introduced to the car in the not too distant future... watch this space!!!

Next, I bought, fitted and prepped the bodykit, firstly by sanding down the screw holes that I had made by fitting the kit.

Next was a good two coats of primer. this was then followed up by a guide coat to enable me to sand back the primer enough for a smooth finish and get rid of any discrepancies.

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A quick clean to get the dust off, then paint time!

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Was going to wait a while to do this, but Im impatient and the paint had cured fine. SO, i dug out my cutting compound and with lots of water and a LOT of elbow grease, tried to bring back some shine to the paint. I could get more out of it, but im knackered (!), so this is good enough for now. Next weekend, I will give it another going over to finish it even better. But for now, this is how she looks.

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I do now need to move the exhaust over by about an inch to the left unfortunately.. This will be another task

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Found a smidge of tint spray in my garage so thought I would modify the rear lights.

I'm quite a Euro fan and like the look of black/red rear lights like the Escort GTi, mk2 golf etc and thought it could look okay on my car.

Here's what half hour later looks like! Just needs a polish up in a couple of days! No doubt it's been done before, but I hadn't seen it and thought it 'meaned' it up a bit! Not many people are too keen on these, but i like them and ultimately, thats what its all about, isnt it!?

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Andy
sam1176uk
Posts: 725
Joined: Fri Feb 06, 2009 5:31 pm
Location: West Lothian

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by sam1176uk »

Looks cracking Andy, like the all black look!
Did you take the rear lights off to do that or just spray the outside?
Andy_Foz
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:46 pm
Location: Teynham, Kent

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by Andy_Foz »

Thanks very much, Sam!

As for the rear lights, I just cleaned them and masked them up on the car. Im really happy with them. Didnt want completely blacked out rear lights, I dont like the facelift ones but just wanted something that looked a little meaner.

I think next on the list is to paint all the badges on the car. Cant decide between Focus ST Orange (i have some paint already that i was going to use for another project) or the same black that I used for the kit... decisions, decisions!

Andy
tonigmr2
IMOC Committee
Posts: 18054
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 2:30 pm
Location: Here

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by tonigmr2 »

Very impressive home bearding chap!
SuperRedMR2
Posts: 5494
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 8:40 pm
Location: Wickford, Essex

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by SuperRedMR2 »

Very good!

I've got mr-s alloys on my mk1 and they are really really bad! Did you take them back to bare metal or just sand them down til they were even?

Also, where did you get the carbon vinyl from and what did you do exactly to apply it?
Andy_Foz
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:46 pm
Location: Teynham, Kent

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by Andy_Foz »

Hi SuperRed. The alloys that came on the car werent in great shape. Fortunately, I bought a set with good tyres that were in much better condition than mine, so i sprayed them and just swapped the set straight over (still have the old set if you know anyone that wants some!).

If I were to paint the bubbling alloys, yes, I would sand them down until they were smooth and paint them up. Might bubble up again in a couple of years time, but ive done it this way plenty of times before and never had a problem before.

As for the bonnet, this was my first time using the film. The trick is a little preperation and LOTS of heat! Obviously, work from the centre out to eliminate bubbles etc. Lots of heat on the corners will help mould it to shape. I got it from a trader on Ebay. Just looked for the cheapest one as one 3M product is the same as the next. Just comes down to bartering them off against each other for a good price! Think I paid about £80 for the amount to do the bonnet and quite a lot left over.

Andy
Andy_Foz
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:46 pm
Location: Teynham, Kent

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by Andy_Foz »

A ridiculously small update, but one that I feel has made quite an impact... Spraying the front badge black!

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OwenK
Posts: 140
Joined: Sun May 04, 2008 8:15 pm
Location: Coventry

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by OwenK »

The car looks fri88ing great. Really like the rear light tinting, not seen it done before, looks smart. The bodykit really helped chunk the car up too, didn't it? I like it alot - I'm not normally a fan of the mk3s...!
Quigonjay
Posts: 11294
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 8:43 pm
Location: Blackburn

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by Quigonjay »

like that a lot :thumleft:
Andy_Foz
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:46 pm
Location: Teynham, Kent

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by Andy_Foz »

Thanks, guys. Yesterday was the first time Ive had the hardtop off since fitting the kit! Its back on now, but had to take a couple of pictures. I honestly thought it wouldnt look as good with the hardtop off, but actually, I kinda prefer it again?? Even the softtop on made it look sleeker?? Wish it wasnt winter approaching now, I want more softtop action!

Andy

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greglebon
Posts: 757
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:52 am
Location: Worthing, UK

!

Post by greglebon »

To augment the rear lights, you could also do what I have done on my roadster.

Basically black Hammerite on the inside of the lens, covering the parts of the lens that dont actually have any lamps behind them......! :whistle:

The rear on the roadster always seem to be twice the size they should be (and look fairly crap, too, TBH..!)

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Andy_Foz
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:46 pm
Location: Teynham, Kent

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by Andy_Foz »

Im kinda happy with the rear lights as they are to be honest, thanks for the suggestion, though!

Andy
Lawz01
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 12:13 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by Lawz01 »

Looks fantastic Andy, cant believe how much you have done to it in so little time! :D have you considered getting the optical headlights at all? Thats my first on my list i have them already luckily cant wait to get them on! Did you do the Hard top conversion kit yourself is it fairly straight forward?? :?: :thumleft:
Andy_Foz
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:46 pm
Location: Teynham, Kent

Re: Andy's Roadster project

Post by Andy_Foz »

Lawz01 wrote:Looks fantastic Andy, cant believe how much you have done to it in so little time! :D have you considered getting the optical headlights at all? Thats my first on my list i have them already luckily cant wait to get them on! Did you do the Hard top conversion kit yourself is it fairly straight forward?? :?: :thumleft:


Hi pal. thanks for the kind words. I havent considered changing the headlights to be honest. I can appreciate they look nicer, but if Im not upgrading the rear lights, I think it might look a little mix-matched. And Im not personally a fan of the late spec rear lights.

I have considered tinting the front lights with something like a lamin-x film. Ive had quite good success with this on previous projects, and think something like the yellow tint would give it a real individual look. its all money though, and ive got quite a lot to pay for at the moment, what with Christmas coming up etc!

Andy
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